Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta has sensationally hit back at former manager Xavi Hernandez. This comes after Xavi claimed that he deliberately sabotaged Lionel Messi’s return to Camp Nou.
Reacting, Laporta insisted that the decision for Messi to return rested entirely with the Argentine superstar rather than any boardroom interference, and a concrete contract offer was rejected by the Messi camp for personal reasons.
He added that Xavi was fired because he just could not balance his family and professional life.
His words, “He relaxed and couldn’t balance his family and professional life. He said our team wouldn’t be competitive in Europe. He was constantly dissatisfied with the squad he had. And regarding Messi, in 2023 I sent the contract to Jorge Messi, who was very polite. And in May he told me it couldn’t happen because he would be under too much pressure here and that he preferred to go to Miami. And I told him I respected that.”
WOW.
Futbol Club Barcelona is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the third-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $5.51 billion, and the world’s fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €582.1 million.
The official Barcelona anthem is the “Cant del Barça”, written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.
In March 2021, Lionel Messi overtook Xavi’s record of 767 games played for the club, and presently has made 778 official appearances in all competitions, while also holding the record for the most appearances in La Liga matches for Barcelona, with 520.
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